Many people enjoy bicycle riding. It is a fun, healthy activity which can be done with friends and family, with a pet, with members of a bike club or simply by yourself From the very young to the very old bicycling provides health, entertainment, fun and a unique means to get from point A to point B (and back).
While bicycling has proven to be beneficial over many generations major problems with bicycles remain such as the need to store, protect, and transport the bicycle or bicycles. Over the years a large numbers of different bicycle racks that cover multiple needs at various expenses have been developed. For home use a fixed bike rack attached to a building can be used to store and secure one or more bicycles. Some businesses provide bike racks for employees and customers while many cities implement a system of bike racks for riders to secure their bicycles to using locks, chains and cables.
However, at times a mobile bike rack is needed. Some city bus systems implement external bike racks on their buses. But more often a rider wants to transport a bicycle by mounting it on his or her automobile or truck. To that end there is a wide selection of different styles of bike-racks to choose from. The right rack should fit a vehicle properly without damage to either the vehicle or the bicycle, it should enable transporting the number of bicycles the user seeks to move, it should provide security for the bicycle or bicycles against being stolen or damaged, and the transported bicycle(s) should not extend from the automobile in a manner that endangers those nearby. Other factors may include the desire to either remove the bike rack from a vehicle while mounting it to another vehicle. Numerous other factors come into play such as the existence of utility racks, tow hitches, spare tires, fenders, and other automobile protrusions.
Conventional automobile-supported bike racks are often only configured for use with one (1) or two (2) bikes. This can be very frustrating if an individual is seeking to transport a larger number of bikes. Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for a vehicle mounted bike rack that is configured to support a large number of bicycles without damage to either the vehicle or to the bicycle(s). Preferably such a bicycle rack would be easy to install, strong and sturdy, manufacturable at low cost, protective of both the bicycle(s) and the vehicle, easy to use, adaptable to multiple needs and suitable for use with multiple vehicles having protrusions such as bumpers, luggage racks, exterior mounted tires and other protrusions.